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The Patient Advocate

Not Our Employee, Not Our Problem

Some Hospitals Deny Responsibility for Medical Malpractice in Their Own Emergency Departments.

Most people who visit a hospital emergency department believe the physicians, nurses and physician assistants who treat them are employees of the hospital. However, that’s often not the case. And worse yet, if a doctor or nurse in the emergency department makes a serious mistake and harms a patient, the hospital may try to deny responsibility for the acts of their hospital staff.

National Survey Shows Some Pittsburgh Area Hospitals are Safer than Others

Residents of Western Pennsylvania are fortunate to have access to some of the best doctors and nurses in the nation. However, a recent national survey which measures preventable injuries and illnesses suggests several area hospitals, including two of the region’s largest, fall short of expectations when it comes to patient safety. The Spring 2020 survey results were released on April 30, 2020.  Nearly every hospital in the Western Pennsylvania region received an “A” or “B” grade.  Two hospitals in the region received a “C”.

Pennsylvania Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Malpractice Claims – What You Need to Know

There are numerous VA Healthcare Systems and Hospitals available to veterans in Pennsylvania including the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System – made up of the Pittsburgh VA Medical Center-University Drive in Oakland and the H. John Heinz III Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Aspinwall. While the VA Health System provides a great service to our veterans, we have seen many instances where the medical care was substandard and led to avoidable injuries and death.

The 21st Century Cures Act Final Rule – A New Phase of Patient Centered Health IT

On March 9, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) issued a final rule that will amend the Code of Federal Regulations in ways that greatly enhance an individual’s ability to access their electronic health records through modern tools, like apps and the internet. Titled the 21st Century Cures Act: Interoperability, Information Blocking, and the ONC Health IT Certification Program, the final rule will become effective sixty-days after the date it is published in the Federal Register.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Declares Pennsylvania’s Seven Year Limit On Medical Malpractice Cases Unconstitutional

On October 31, 2019, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court handed down its opinion in Yanakos v. UPMC and declared Pennsylvania’s statute of repose unconstitutional. Before the Court, UPMC argued the statute of response complied with Article I, Section 11 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. The Court found UPMC proved the statute of repose was related to the important government’s interest of controlling the rising costs associated with medical insurance and medical care. However, UPMC failed to produce evidence of how the statute of repose actually achieved this government interest.

Multiple Studies Show The Benefits of HPV Vaccination Over the Past Five Years

Human Papillomavirus, better known as HPV, is a sexually transmitted infection that affects approximately 79 million mostly young Americans. In recent years, health care providers and researchers have led a concerted effort to stop the spread of HPV and for good reason – not only is HPV the most common infection among Americans, HPV infection causes several types of cancers, including cervical cancer, anal cancer, and cancers of the throat, base of the tongue and tonsils. According to the CDC, every year in the United States, HPV causes 33,700 cases of cancer in men and women.

Neil Armstrong Died of Medical Malpractice, Family Settled for $6M

Neither celebrity or character protect patients from medical malpractice. Note that this matter was settled privately and it is only because of hard working reporters that the public now has been informed. Since most serious cases are settled under confidentiality restrictions there is an ongoing silence about many careless acts resulting in many catastrophically injured patients.

The Importance Of Our Rights To A Jury Trial

The Constitution is the bedrock of our American society.  Not a day goes by without many of us benefiting from one or more of the sacred amendments to our constitution, such as the freedoms of speech or religion, or the right to bear arms.  At Lupetin & Unatin, we are privileged to work every day to advance an important right granted to each of us under the Seventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Section 6 of the Constitution of Pennsyvlania – the right to a jury trial. 

ASTM e2147 Revised For 2018

When the Congress under the Clinton administration passed the health information portability and privacy act commonly known and referenced as HIPPA there was a recognition that while healthcare would benefit from the creation of electronic medical records that such a development also posed inherent problems. Electronic records are easily modified deleted and viewed without detection. In order to assure the integrity of our electronic medical records regulations were promulgated to address these problems.

Eight Steps To Avoid Cervical Cancer (Updated)

Modern medicine offers many therapeutic treatments to women diagnosed with invasive cancer. Prevention, however, is far better than cure. The best protection a woman has against cervical cancer is to develop a trusting relationship with a gynecologist and follow the guidelines listed in this article.

Electronic Medical Records Can Provide Early Warning of Sepsis for Those at Highest Risk

The use of electronic medical records raises innumerable issues concerning access, privacy, and misuse. However, with the advancement of technology in medicine comes the ability to improve electronic medical record systems to make them more advantageous and valuable to physicians and patients. Systems such as this have the potential to serve as an “effective early warning tool” that can save lives that would otherwise be lost to sepsis.

A World Free Of Polio – Not Yet

In the February 11, 2016 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine the first perspective article was titled “A World Free of Polio – The Final Steps”. Frankly I was shocked by what I read. Beginning in the 1980’s, a series of lawsuits were filed against the Lederle drug company, which was owned by American Cyanamid at the time. These lawsuits were filed first in state and then in federal court and all were based on the proposition that an innocent person, either a vaccine recipient infant or a family member of a recipient, had acquired paralytic polio as a consequence of having been inoculated with the Sabin oral attenuated vaccine or coming in contact with infants who were vaccinated.

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